American Drinking Habits
American drinking habits have been documented by Gallup Polls for the past 65 years. The latest Gallup survey reports that 126.5 million American adults, on occasion, may consume alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and liquor, representing 63 percent of the U.S. population 18 years of age and older.
Surveys by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) classify as drinkers those who have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the 30-day period prior to being surveyed, while the Gallup standard identifies as drinkers those who on any occasion might down an alcoholic drink.
By including in its classification as drinkers those whose only experience with alcohol might be at a wedding or at toast to welcome in the New Year, Gallup more accurately identifies total abstainers as those for whom alcohol plays any significant part in their lifestyle.
In a society where some $2 billion a year in alcohol advertising suggests that almost everyone drinks, the most recent Gallup Poll identifies 74.4 million American adults who are total abstainers.
The first Gallup survey in 1939 identified 42% as abstainers. During the decade of the 1940s the abstinence rate ranged from 33% to 37%, hitting a high of 42% in 1949.
By 1950 abstainers comprised 40% of the population and remained in the fortieth percentile for the decade, reaching an all-time high of 45% in 1958 before dropping to the range of 35% to 37%, hitting a high of 42% in 1949.
By 1950 abstainers comprised 40% of the population and remained in the fortieth percentile for the decade, reaching an all-time high of 45% in 1958 before dropping to the range of 35% to 38% in the decade of the 1960s.
In the years following repeal of national Prohibition, per capita alcohol consumption in the United States for the drinking age population remained under two gallons until World War II, when it began to steadily rise. In the decade of the 1970s, per capita alcohol consumption went from 2.52 gallons in 1970 to 2.75 gallons in 1979. At the same time, the abstinence rate dropped to an all-time low of 29%.
Then in the 1980s, with the tightening of drunk driving laws and raising the legal drinking age back to 21, Americans began to trend away from this high level of beer, wine and liquor consumption. Not only did per capita alcohol consumption drop from 2.76 gallons to 2.42 gallons, the abstinence rate increased to a high of 44% by 1989.
During the decade of the 1990s, the abstinence rate ranged from 35% to 43% before settling in at 36% in 2000. The latest Gallup survey puts abstainers at 37% of the American adult population, which represents 126.5 million adults.
Gallup noted that there were some 20,000 alcohol-related deaths in 2001, the most recent year for which data are available from the National Center for Health Statistics, adding that these numbers do not include deaths resulting from unintentional injuries or homicides, many of which are indirectly related to alcohol use.
Survey data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism identify 17.6 million American adults as either problem drinkers or alcoholics, but how many drinkers admit to consuming more alcohol than they should? In its most recent survey, Gallup Pollsters asked this question, and nearly a quarter (23%) of those who admitted drinking said they sometimes drank more than they should.
Alcohol problems affect not only the drinkers, but also their families and others around them. In its 2004 survey, Gallup pollsters asked individuals who admitted to drinking if that drinking had been a cause of trouble in their families. Nearly one third (32%) responded in the affirmative.
MICAP RECAP, Page 1-2, September 15, 2004
Surveys by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) classify as drinkers those who have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the 30-day period prior to being surveyed, while the Gallup standard identifies as drinkers those who on any occasion might down an alcoholic drink.
By including in its classification as drinkers those whose only experience with alcohol might be at a wedding or at toast to welcome in the New Year, Gallup more accurately identifies total abstainers as those for whom alcohol plays any significant part in their lifestyle.
In a society where some $2 billion a year in alcohol advertising suggests that almost everyone drinks, the most recent Gallup Poll identifies 74.4 million American adults who are total abstainers.
The first Gallup survey in 1939 identified 42% as abstainers. During the decade of the 1940s the abstinence rate ranged from 33% to 37%, hitting a high of 42% in 1949.
By 1950 abstainers comprised 40% of the population and remained in the fortieth percentile for the decade, reaching an all-time high of 45% in 1958 before dropping to the range of 35% to 37%, hitting a high of 42% in 1949.
By 1950 abstainers comprised 40% of the population and remained in the fortieth percentile for the decade, reaching an all-time high of 45% in 1958 before dropping to the range of 35% to 38% in the decade of the 1960s.
In the years following repeal of national Prohibition, per capita alcohol consumption in the United States for the drinking age population remained under two gallons until World War II, when it began to steadily rise. In the decade of the 1970s, per capita alcohol consumption went from 2.52 gallons in 1970 to 2.75 gallons in 1979. At the same time, the abstinence rate dropped to an all-time low of 29%.
Then in the 1980s, with the tightening of drunk driving laws and raising the legal drinking age back to 21, Americans began to trend away from this high level of beer, wine and liquor consumption. Not only did per capita alcohol consumption drop from 2.76 gallons to 2.42 gallons, the abstinence rate increased to a high of 44% by 1989.
During the decade of the 1990s, the abstinence rate ranged from 35% to 43% before settling in at 36% in 2000. The latest Gallup survey puts abstainers at 37% of the American adult population, which represents 126.5 million adults.
Gallup noted that there were some 20,000 alcohol-related deaths in 2001, the most recent year for which data are available from the National Center for Health Statistics, adding that these numbers do not include deaths resulting from unintentional injuries or homicides, many of which are indirectly related to alcohol use.
Survey data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism identify 17.6 million American adults as either problem drinkers or alcoholics, but how many drinkers admit to consuming more alcohol than they should? In its most recent survey, Gallup Pollsters asked this question, and nearly a quarter (23%) of those who admitted drinking said they sometimes drank more than they should.
Alcohol problems affect not only the drinkers, but also their families and others around them. In its 2004 survey, Gallup pollsters asked individuals who admitted to drinking if that drinking had been a cause of trouble in their families. Nearly one third (32%) responded in the affirmative.
| Year | Drinkers | Abstainers |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 63% | 37% |
| 2002 | 66% | 34% |
| 2000 | 64% | 36% |
| 1997 | 61% | 39% |
| 1996 | 58% | 42% |
| 1994 | 65% | 35% |
| 1992 | 64% | 36% |
| 1990 | 57% | 43% |
| 1989 | 56% | 44% |
| 1988 | 63% | 37% |
| 1987 | 65% | 35% |
| 1985 | 67% | 33% |
| 1984 | 64% | 36% |
| 1983 | 65% | 35% |
| 1982 | 65% | 35% |
| 1981 | 70% | 30% |
| 1979 | 69% | 31% |
| 1978 | 71% | 29% |
| 1977 | 71% | 29% |
| 1976 | 71% | 29% |
| 1974 | 68% | 32% |
| 1969 | 64% | 36% |
| 1966 | 65% | 35% |
| 1964 | 63% | 37% |
| 1960 | 62% | 38% |
| 1958 | 55% | 45% |
| 1957 | 58% | 42% |
| 1956 | 60% | 40% |
| 1952 | 60% | 40% |
| 1951 | 59% | 41% |
| 1950 | 60% | 40% |
| 1949 | 58% | 42% |
| 1947 | 63% | 37% |
| 1946 | 67% | 33% |
| 1945 | 67% | 33% |
| 1939 | 58% | 42% |
MICAP RECAP, Page 1-2, September 15, 2004
